Shortly after the January 2009 12 Hours of Temecula, I told myself I was going to be better prepared for the 12 Hours of Rim Nordic in June.
I was going to start on a real training plan, lose some weight, etc. The weeks flew by and I didn’t do any of that. In fact, I actually gained a few pounds. Before I knew it, it was June already. Oh well, a little too late now.
So I went into the 12 Hours of Rim Nordic without any big expectations. I did get a few TXT taunts from a fellow competitor though, so I knew I had to at least make a good effort.
The Rim Nordic course was fun, but some of the singletrack climbs in the first three miles were just grueling. As the day wore on, there were a few descending switchbacks that developed ruts large enough to swallow your tire.
I started out pretty strong, finishing 4 laps in about 4.5 hours. After that, I started slowing down. I got to a point where my lap roll times ended up in the 1:20 range. My legs just didn’t have any power left. No cramping or anything. Just no power for the steeper singletrack climbs. I was wishing I had a 20T chainring w/ a 36T cassette, but then I realized it was just easier to walk, so I did.
I ended up with 9 laps in 11:31. Preliminary results had me in 3rd in Sport Solo, but apparently, somebody else’s laps were counted incorrectly and I got bumped to 4th.
So there’s approximately 5 months till the series finale in November. I guess I’ll see if I can get on a real training program and lose some weight by then.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Don’t. It’s better to just go in fat and lazy. Then, at least, you’ll surprise yourself with whatever # of laps you do, do.
What happened to your elevation profile? I see it ends at the 9 mile mark at 6700 feet, but the 0 starts at 6500. That’s quite a drop!